It's Christmas Day!!! ...

Hello there guys, so it's finally Christmas and I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and take the opportunity to thank you all for reading my posts and following me on Bloglovin. I shall be doing a post on what I got for Christmas if you were interested in that, that shall be up either later today or tomorrow and I may even through a little surprise Christmas Tree tutorial in there as well. I know the posts have been lacking recently and I apologize for that again but I am really looking forward to next year! Well most of next year.... I have my exams next year so apart form that haha but I hope you all got what you wanted and have a lovely Christmas! 

BBYYEEEE!!! x

Beauty products I wish I had!! ...

Hey guys, so if you read my Christmas gift guide you'd of seen the Soap and Glory products I brought for my friends for Christmas and I've wanted these so badly since everyone has raved about them and they smell so nice but just haven't gotten round to buying them so I'm doing a post about them...

The packaging is soo cool and pretty I just can't resist it! It reminds me of a vintage kind of style which is really cute. Apart from the packaging it smells gorgeous!! and is supposed to really help your skin which is what you want in a product.

I think this is my favourite because it smelled the best and looked so cute!! 

That was just a mini post because I had taken these pictures for my Christmas gift guide but didn't use them in the end so thought I'd use them anyway. Hope you've had a lovely day thanks for reading goodbye! 

How to make a Stitch plushie.....

Hey guys, so here's a tutorial on how I made Stitch from Lilo and Stitch...  

You will need:

Felt in the colours: 
- Dark blue
-Light blue (I didn't have any so I used a turquoise colour)
-Pale pink
-White
-Black

Thread in the colours: 
-Black
-Blue
-Pale pink

Other things:
-A needle
-Stuffing  
-Pencil, paper and scissors

Cut two pieces of the body in the blue thread, using the same template cut the body piece in the lighter blue, ears in blue and pink, a nose in blue and eyes in black and white.

I am sorry I did not take a picture of the template it wasn't that hard to do though.

Sew the body piece onto the front blue piece along with the feet.

For the feet I did an under circle, a piece with "claws" and then another circle on top.

Like shown in the picture on the left.

now take the ear parts and sew them together, you can then take the blue body piece and sew the ears onto them. Add the eyes and nose also.

For the eyes, take a large white piece in the shape of a kidney bean almost, do the same in black but smaller and then a small white circle.

Once you've done that take the back piece and start to sew the two together leaving a gap for the stuffing.

Take the stuffing and place as much in as you can, the more the better.

 This is the gap I left to stuff Stitch.











Once you've stuffed as much as you can sew him up and he should look something like.....

 this. This is my first attempt at making a Stitch and he didn't turn out too bad.

Let me know what you thought of him and if you've tried it I'd love to see pictures, tag me on instagram and I'll take a look. Also if you want any tutorials that I haven't done so far leave them in the comments and I'll try and do it for you. Thanks for reading and have fun making Stitch! Byee x

Instagram: @tashadukes_97

#3 Christmas gift guide! ...

Hey guys, so today I'm going to be giving you a few ideas for gifts and what to get/make your friends and family. Let's get started... 

This type of gift is is you want to give a person something without spend a lot of money, if yo gift wrap it and put a ribbon around it makes it look like you've put more effort in. You could also buy a jar and fill it with there favorite sweets. This is just a very in expensive way of showing your appreciation towards a person.

The next item is beauty products, I got mini Soap and Glory products for each of my friends and in Boots (the shop I got them from) they had an offer of 3 for 2 so it was cheaper. Beauty products are a nice gift to give you friends especially if there girly girls and love that type of thing. If you know there favorite type of product or brand or scent then you should probably get them that, it would make it a little more personal because they know that you know their favorite beauty product. If you didn't want to buy them any body beauty product you could go for make up instead if your friends wear make up. Again gift wrapping can make it look super pretty and Christmassy so I'd advise gift wrapping everything.... I did :)

Another idea I came up with was a personalized t shirt. This is for the people who like to make very personal gifts and like to make things, like me. I much prefer giving my close friends and family gifts they want or mean something because it shows you care about them and you put more effort in to their present than just going to the shop and buying something you see (there's nothing wrong with that though don't get me wrong!) I was really stuck with what to get my friend and so I took to Youtube and searched for DIY gift ideas which really helped.

The last thing on my list is making a soft plushie, my friend asked me to make her a stitch from the film Lilo and Stitch so I attempted to do just that. It's not bad for a first attempt. I am going to be putting up a tutorial in the next few days of how to make this if you are interested. But yeah you could make their favourite Disney character or food/drink anything, this again is quite personal and can mean a lot. Also they are very cute! 

One more thing you could do which I haven't included but have done for one of my friends is buy a personalized phone case, I got mine from Mr Nutcase which cost around £15 so it's a little pricey for those on a low budget but the quality is very good! 

That's all for now thanks for reading and I hope this helps! :) bye x

Posts are coming I promise!! ...

Hey guys, I wanted to let you know that I've got blog post ideas for my mini Christmas Countdown series but I've got mock exams at the minute so I'm spending most of my time revising and concentrating on them, I'm going to do a tutorial on some Christmas plushies, like a Christmas tree, snow man e.c.t and I might to a little gift guide for last minute shoppers but this will probably be next week as I'm shopping tomorrow for the stuff and school and rowing its hard to fit everything in, so bare with me guys, I'll get there eventually!

I was also going to post about the new skin care products I've been using but the lightening isn't very good in the pictures so I'll retake them and post it soon. Thanks for reading guys, byeee! x

#2 Putting up Decorations!! ....

Hey guys, so the next installment for my Christmas Countdown series is putting up some decorations! I'm obsessed with fairy lights, they are just so pretty and christmassy! So here's some pictures of what I've done so far ....

So I've put these ones draped over some of my artwork and canvases (please excuses the blue canvas it's awful I know I forgot to take it down haha) but I think it looks really pretty and Christmassy and I love it!!

I also wanted to put some on my book shelf and it looks really nice and sparkly. I was worried that it might catch fire but I think I'll be okay haha. Since taking these I've also put another set up along my curtain pole draping down which also looks very effective and pretty.

I also brought this clay pot with starts cut out and a red candle in red berries smell, take it from me guys it smells AMAZING!! I've literally fallen in love with it!! Highly recommend it. 

Another thing I brought but didn't take a picture of was a very fluffy white blanket which is very comfy and snuggly, obviously perfect for the winter time when it gets colder.

But that's it for now, thanks for reading and I hope it gave you a little bit of inspiration.

Goodbye! x

Christmas Countdown!! #1 Putting the Christmas Tree up! ...

Hey there guys, I know it's been many months since I have posted so sorry about that... again! 

Anyway it is finally December which means it's the countdown to Christmas!! I'm very excited to say the least, so I'm going to try and do a little Christmas series leading up to Christmas, starting with the tree. 

Let get started!!

So I have a white Christmas tree and the lights are already on the tree because that's how I brought it, this is what it looks like before any decorations are on it. I've put it on my white table in front of the window this year in case you wanted to know.

 Then I put the decorations on, my theme is blues and silvers. I've these for a few years so I might change it up next year. But they're sparkly and snowflakes and spirals, so it looks pretty! 

Above are some close ups of some of my decorations, and the last one is a pretty white ball ball with a bell inside and it cost me £1.00 from Wilkinson's! It's not on the other pictures of the whole tree because I took them the other day and I brought this yesterday so it was an additional thing. 

But yes, that is the first installment of my Christmas Countdown, hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading as ever and I'll see you next time!  

Goodbye x

A very inspirational person.....

This blog post is a very special one because last Wednesday I went to school with the knowledge of having an Inspirational speaker coming into assembly that morning. I got told that this person had terminal cancer. They were going to die. It hit me quite hard because I immediately started thinking about The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I was nervous about what they were going to be speaking about to us. When we got into assembly he walked in. His name was Stephan and he spoke with such positivity and passion that it really inspired me. He told us his story and how when he was 15 years old, (that's my year group at school!! so practically the same age a me) he got diagnosed with Cancer. I can't imagine how I would cope with this news, he told us that he went through Chemotherapy and surgery and the process repeated many times, to then be told that he was clear and it had gone. Imagine being told that. After all the treatment you actually beat it! Stephan then said that it came back. Another knock. So that's twice he's had it, it went again the second time. During all this he kept up his studies as he wanted to be a doctor. He then got told the dreadful news that the cancer was back and had spread to various places in his body..... and it was terminal. Terminal. To be told that you have terminal cancer, that you are going to die must be devastating and I seriously don't know how people deal with it! Stephan then decided to make a Bucket list with 46 things he wanted to do before he died, which included a skydive, meeting Jimmy Carr and many many others. He has a Facebook page that I'll leave below please go check it out he is such a nice and genuine guy with a very Inspirational to story you should here from the man himself.
If you're reading this and you are suffering with Cancer I'd like to personally give you a massive pat on the shoulder and the biggest hug in the world, you have such courage to go through this and I hope that you can beat it!! I have learnt so much the past few days and this may be bordering cheesy but we really don't live long! Stephan said we have around 180,600 seconds a day. Don't waste them, please be productive and be your best person everyday. Stephan has impacted my life even if he doesn't know it, I'm privileged to of heard his story and to know what he has been through in just 4 years!! Check his Facebook page out CHECK IT OUT HERE!!

Thank you very much for reading, bye x

A catch up with lots of things......

Hey there guys, I know it's been a very long time but I can honestly say I've had a lot going on.
I've been training harder and working harder at school and having to decide what A levels I want to take and homework and revision, trying to fit everything in is rather difficult so I forgot to blog for quite a while. I had planned on doing a blog for Halloween, because I made a pumpkin and a bat plushies but I never got round to doing it and it's obviously too late now, so I was thinking that now Christmas is coming up I was do a little count down to Christmas series where I do/ find/ show Christmassy things. Comment below if you'd like that.

I also recently competed in a competition and won both races I competed in, it was such an achievement because the weather conditions were really bad and it was a long and tiring day, so to win with my partner was a big moment in my life that I'll always remember.

School. I have recently began to hate school to say the least because the lessons are boring and they constantly make me tired but there's nothing I can do about it so I have to live with it. Yesterday I had to start deciding what A levels I want to take and I came to the decision of taking Art, English Literature and Media studies, I was going to choose Geography but it was in the same Block as Art so I couldn't choose both.

I think that's about it, I'm reading a book at the minute so when I finish I'll do a book review on it you seem to enjoy those, but yeah that's all sorry for no posts... again but thanks for reading and bearing with me. Byee x

Divergent .....

So it's finally time to review one of my favorite books I've ever read DIVERGENT! As you guys, who read my blog regularly, know that I loved this book so much and have been saying that I'm going to review and never got round to it, but now I am and I'm very happy and excited to review the book I love so much. 

So lets begin, my favorite character in the whole entire book has to be Four aka Tobias. I absolutely fell in love with him from the word go, he's just strong and he has his guard up at the start and treats Tris differently and then I began to realize that he liked her and I'm a sucker for a love story so I was thrilled that Tris and Four got together. 

I loved the world that it was set in with the five factions, Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent) my favorite faction was Dauntless. I've debated with myself whether I'd survive it because I'm quite a strong person and I can handle most things that are thrown at me but whether I could jump of a train I don't know and also we only go to really see the Abnegation and Dauntless factions so maybe if I'd gotten to experience all of them I'd decide better.

I love how both Tris and Four are Divergent (was it obvious, I think so but it's still good!) There were some shocking moments though like when Edward got stabbed in the eye, I really wasn't expecting that and it was kinda gross. Tris annoyed me a little I don't really know why but sometimes when the book is from the girls perspective I get a little annoyed because they over think everything and I'm just like "Get to the point".

But I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have now brought the second one Insurgent to read, hopefully it's as good as Divergent. If you haven't read the book before and you want to know the basic plot her it is (I just realized I hadn't said it earlier whoops) But Tris was born into the Abnegation and was brought up to be selfless always giving to other people before thinking about herself. And when they turn 16 I think it is they have to do an Aptitude test where it decides which Faction is best for you. Tris's Aptitude test was different she changed it in some way which basically meant that she was Divergent, and it's practically an Abomination to be Divergent so she has to hide it from anyone. When it comes to deciding which Faction she wants to live in she has to decide whether to stay with her parents in Abnegation or transfer to Dauntless. She ends up choosing Dauntless and has to go through the initiation process. The rest of the book is based on the initiation process of how Tris struggles to hide being Divergent and falling in love with Four, making friends, learning to fight and to finally fitting in.

I strongly recommend that you read this book if you haven't yet and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Comment what you thought of the book if you've read it I'd love to know. Thanks for reading, byee x

The Fault In Our Stars....

Hey there guys, so as you can see I'm going to be talking about the ever so amazing The Fault In Our Stars book by John Green. It really didn't take me long to read as it's around 300 pages but boy in those 300 pages there were so many emotions, I laughed, I cried and I hoped so bad that IT wouldn't happen. Before I go any further this is going to be a "Spoiler" so I'm going to go into detail of the story line and say what happened and what I thought so if you haven't read this yet I'd advise you to read it then come back :) 

So to start with the cover is amazing, the simplicity of it it perfect and really relates to the book. It's almost like the sky with two clouds and then you could say it's almost like heaven where both Gus and Hazel are now. See media brain always making connections and over thinking things.

But anyway, the overall story touched me so much and the fact that John Green wrote it from Hazel's perspective is awesome. He captured a "Girl's brain" perfectly, which is kinda creepy but it's John Green I guess he's the exception. I love how the two characters meet at the boring support group where Patrick tells the same "he lost his balls" story and that even though they've just met they go back to Gus' house. Who would do that like seriously no one but in this book it fits perfectly and the roller-coaster starts from then. I love Gus' character the most, he's quirky and only has one leg, but is still beautiful and charming. He tries to be different and he's honest about his feelings towards Hazel which most boys aren't. The Amsterdam section was so cute and the fact that they had an amazing time together, it was just awesome, I don't know what else to say. I fell in love with it haha. And then... 

 Gus DIES!! I really didn't expect him to die, I cried I'll admit that but I know lots of people did too so I'm no the only one. But yeah when Augustus died it was horrible and dark, his quirky jokes gone and Hazel was depressed (as to be expected really) and this was such a sad way to end the book but this is life and it does happen. I'm so glad that John Green just old it how it is, there's swearing in book and raw emotion oh and the drunk Peter Van Houten who was rather cruel to Hazel.

Also this is one of my favorite part of the book because Gus is dying in the car basically and he rings Hazel and she comes and she finds him with sick all over him and then he comes out and says "This is it. I can't even not smoke anymore!" and Hazel replies "Gus, I love you." I laughed at Gus's comment and almost cried at Hazel's. I'm such a hopeless romantic that I love a good love story, although it's about a young couple dying they still fell in love in a very beautiful way. It was beautiful to read and to experience such art! If you haven't read it and you went against what I said earlier you need to read it!! 

Thanks for reading guys, see you next time byee

Fashion Haul....

Hey there guys so as promised this is the second part of my haul from when I went shopping a few weeks ago, I have used my Coolpix L810 camera as my mum still has my digital camera, so the photos may be better I'm not sure, let me know in the comment.

So lets begin....

This top is from New Look, it's quite thick but not too heavy, it reminds me of of a kind of rock chick look which I really like. It wasn't too expensive, I can't remember exactly how much is cost but it was no more than £20.00. I really like this and will wear it loads with leggings and jeans.

 This little beauty is from Forever 21 and is so warm and snug it's perfect for winter. I think this was around £17.99 but I can't be certain but again no more than £20.00. I really love this and have worn it loads since I brought it, it's comfy and warm and just cute!

 I brought these leggings from New Look and they have a fleece lining on the inside so it keeps my legs warm when I'm out and about and it's a bit chilly. They are also patterned slightly but I don't think you'll be able to see on the photo. These were £12.99 so a bit more than the usual leggings but that's probably because of the fleece inside. They go with everything! I wore the Minnie mouse jumper with them, the red shirt they are just a must have for winter!

 These beauties are also from New Look and are so comfy! Sadly when I was in the shop they didn't have my size and had to be ordered to my house for me, free postage, perfect! they took around 4 days to arrive, not too bad and well worth the wait! these were £19.99 I think so very good for boots, which are a necessity for the winter.

This white jumper is from forever 21 and was under £20.00, I forgot the price, but is super warm and fits very nicely. It's a knitted jumper with gold circle beading on the shoulders which adds a bit of glam which you can dress up at Christmas or dress down for normal days.

 I apologize if it's a little blurry, but this blue jumper is also from Forever 21 and was again under £20.00, I spent quite a bit in Forever 21 whoops, but is also a knitted jumper with a pattern on. The only problem I think is that it's quite dark so if I wore it with leggings or jeans I'd need to wear something a bit brighter as well.

This isn't a different jumper the camera decided to change it to gray, I just wanted to show you the pattern in more detail.

But that's it for now, I have got a couple book reviews and possibly a book shelf tour, let me know if you'd like to see them or if you enjoyed this post, thanks for reading. See you next time byyee x